Yesterday members of Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and US SIF submitted a letter on behalf of 80 institutional investors, research and investment firms, to Rep. John Boehner (Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives) and Rep. Eric Cantor (Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives) seeking support on the Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act (HR 2759). HR 2759 requires companies that make over 100 million annually to include in their yearly report, actions being taken to identify and address issues of slavery. The letter strongly encourages the Republican House Leadership to “support investors, companies, workers and consumers by moving this important legislation forward in an expeditious manner.”
Read the letter here
We’re closing in on the end of the National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. If you haven’t already, tweet any news about modern-day slavery with the hashtag “#endslavery”. You can link to our Slavery Map, which shows the extent of slavery in all the regions of the world. Or share our video about the Top 10 Facts About the “S” Word”. Or peruse through the “About Slavery” section of our website for in-depth information about survivors, activists, and frontline work. There’s lots of information you can use to raise awareness and spread the word that slavery exists—and can be eradicated in our lifetime, if we all work together.
If you’re still stumped for something to share, here is a recent article from the Huffington Post that is sure to inspire: Rani Hong is a survivor of child slavery, who now works as a prominent anti-slavery activist (she is co-founder of the Tronie Foundation, and an advocate for victims and survivors of slavery). Hong shares her story. She was sold into slavery when she was 7 years old.
“By the time I was eight, my physical condition and emotional state were dire. I was near death. No longer of any value to Paul, he sold me into illegal adoption. I was adopted by an American woman who thought she was getting a legitimately orphaned girl. She brought me to live with her in Washington, where I had all the privileges of American life. Through her love, I began to find stability, healing, and a sense of personal freedom.”
Free the Slaves co-founder Kevin Bales was on CNN last Friday. He was interviewed by Richard Quest about the state of slavery in the cocoa industry. Just over 10 years ago, in September 2001, Free the Slaves helped broker the historic Harkin-Engel Protocol.
Otherwise known as the “Cocoa Protocol,” the agreement marked the first time in the 250-year history of the anti-slavery movement that a global industry took responsibility for slavery in its supply chain. Chocolate companies, several NGOs, international labor organizations, Senator Harkin, Representative Engel, and the governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire all signed on.
The agreement was inspired by a growing awareness of slavery and other human rights abuses on the cocoa farms of West Africa. Free the Slaves helped shed light on these abuses in the Peabody award-winning documentary, “Slavery: A Global Investigation” which aired in 2001.
In the CNN interview above, Kevin Bales reflects on what has happened in the 10 years since the protocol was signed:
“I was proud to sign it and not least because there is something historic about an entire industry coming together to pool their funds to address the issue of child slavery and adult slavery in cocoa… But I am disappointed. To a large part it’s a resource question. It’s about the fact that while several million dollars a year are moving from the chocolate industry into work on the ground in West Africa, it’s simply not enough to meet the size of the problem… I believe that any time anyone happens to be in slavery, that’s a serious problem.”
Bales added that, while it is important to continue to pressure the chocolate industry to keep their supply chains free of slavery, there are other cocoa-using industries—like cosmetics and food manufacturers—that have not “taken part in dealing with the problem in their source material.”
Editor’s note: This is the second part in a series of blog posts written by longtime Free the Slaves supporter Carol Metzker. Carol has traveled to India to see Free the Slaves’ frontline partner work. Here, she gives us a snapshot of the Punarnawa ashram, where girls who have survived slavery rehabilitate, and receive vocational training. Punarnawa means “new beginning.” Read her earlier blog post here.
Robert Schuller’s simple, yet profound, question—once given to me on a greeting card—stared me in the face on a tiny yellow porch more than 7,500 miles from my front door. In November 2011, at a visit to Punarnawa Ashram, a safe haven in India for girls rescued from human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, I viewed the mural. There, I also witnessed the extraordinary endeavors and resounding success of Free the Slaves.
Painted in large black letters above a mural depicting faith, hopes, dreams and scenes from daily routines, the question remains steadfast. What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? It encourages and touches the minds and souls of young girls who enter Punarnawa’s yellow dorm. Painted by volunteers and residents of the shelter, the mural artfully reveals activities and the simple, yet profound, changes that take place each day at the ashram, or campus.
At the mural’s center, a peace sign and symbols of Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Buddhist faith welcome girls of all religions. They honor the girls’ prayers at the start of each day at Punarnawa, which means “new beginnings.”
Surrounding the symbols, stick-figure and three-dimensional drawings of girls stand next to a classroom chalkboard, sewing machines and bicycles. They show aspects the education and vocational training received by each girl during recovery. They speak of the mid-day lessons that serve to eradicate root causes of slavery: illiteracy, poverty, vulnerability.
Stylized bright red, blue and green blooms grace the painting and celebrate the yellow marigolds, pale orange celosia and scarlet canna planted by the survivors. They remind me that where there is no hope, people don’t sow seeds, wait for green shoots to spring from red dirt or anticipate the opening of a bud. In contrast, at Punarnawa growth and hope are as plentiful as the abundant flowers and gardens where children learn to play again during late afternoons.
Faces—some painted with large tears and others shown with smiles and hearts—tell the story of transformation. They tell the story of the center where dedicated teachers, caregivers and medical professionals help girls heal from brutal physical and psychological hurts. The simple drawings depict the journey from captivity and a life without a voice to a future brimming with possibilities, self-esteem, self-expression and power to pursue a life of one’s choosing.
If you knew you could abolish slavery, what action would you take? If you could save the life of one girl or change the circumstances of 27 million slaves worldwide, would you buy a cup of fair trade coffee, make a donation, teach a child to read, demand a new law or spread the word that slavery must stop? What would you attempt to do, if you knew you could not fail?
These children are standing just down the hill from a mine in eastern DRC. They are vulnerable to slavery.
The newest front in fighting slavery involves educating consumers that many everyday products are tainted by slavery. Sometimes it’s sweatshop slavery where products are made. Other times, slaves are forced to harvest or mine raw materials. America’s most influential business news organization, The Wall Street Journal, has been looking into the connection between slavery and gold. Here’s the article from their MarketWatch webpage. It features Free the Slaves Director of Programs Karen Stauss, who is urging Congress and companies to get the slavery out of products in American stores.
Speaking about children who end up in slavery, Karen says:
“It’s important to understand the motivations of the children, but also for governments, civil society and companies to take responsibility for protecting them and ensuring they have viable alternatives… It may feel like a necessity for the children under the present circumstances, but their willingness to literally risk their lives to do this work does not mean that we can accept it on their behalf as well. There is a duty of care.”
Read the rest of the article here.
Also, check out the Free the Slaves mini documentary about slavery in Congo mines below. To learn more about our work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, go to our website here.
Editor’s note: We are thrilled to feature a series of blog posts from Carol Metzker. a longtime supporter of, and donor to Free the Slaves. Carol has traveled to India to see Free the Slaves’ frontline partner work. Her most recent trip took her to the Punarnawa ashram in Bihar. She will be writing about her experience exclusively for the FTS blog. Carol!
Arriving at Punarnawa Ashram in India is no easy feat. From my home in Pennsylvania, USA, it takes a few plane rides over a few days—over expansive ocean and past snow-capped Himalaya mountains. The subsequent car trip ranges from smooth highway sailing to bumpy dirt lane adventures that make Disney thrill rides seem pale in comparison.
Along the way, the reasons for the urgency and importance of Free the Slaves’ (FTS) work and Punarnawa Ashram’s existence become apparent. Bonded laborers pluck new leaves from the region’s tea gardens. Chimneys—from brick factories that operate on the backs of slaves—dot the horizon. At a truck stop, young girls wait for their traffickers, pimps, johns and middlemen to determine their future, horrific in too many cases.
To experience Punarnawa Ashram, a home of “new beginnings” for girls rescued from human trafficking, sexual exploitation and slavery, is worth every moment of travel and every pang of the heart.
Blog entries over the next few days and weeks will be a masala—a spicy hodgepodge—of my insights, experiences, reflections and feelings about my November 2011 visit to the ashram. They will celebrate the extraordinary work being accomplished by FTS staff, ashram workers and the girls themselves. They will invite you to feel the journey and to join the quest for freedom for all worldwide.
Sofia, a former victim of sex trafficking. Photo courtesy of Nicole Bengiveno, New York Times.
Some of them run away. Some of them simply have nowhere to go.
But the lives of prostitutes—often coerced into sex slavery—are usually misunderstood.
Trafficking is considered the third largest industry for organized crime, generating billions of dollars annually.
Here’s a news roundup of some recent news stories about sex trafficking:
New York Times: “Shining Light on the Role of Drivers in Prostitution” by Christine Haughney:
Sofia, a sweet-voiced and cherubic 24-year-old, was one of the lucky ones: She managed to escape much of the suffering shared by the millions of sex workers trafficked throughout the world, and even saw two of her traffickers forced out of the country and back to Mexico.
But the young woman said she still feels that complete justice has eluded her, because the drivers who ferried her from john to john, her de facto bosses, remain at large.
Deseret News: “Stolen Innocence: The battle against modern-day slavery in the US” by Elizabeth Stuart:
ATLANTA — Maybe it was the defiant glint in her eye. Maybe it was the way she dragged her feet on the way to join the other underage girls in tube tops and 8-inch heels hawking their bodies in a bad part of Atlanta. Keisha Head wasn’t sure. But somehow Sir Charles always knew when she was considering trying to escape.
“You better not be thinkin’ ’bout leaving,” the pimp would say. “You know what’s gonna happen.”
CBS News: “Captive sex slave for 10 years tells her story” by CBS News:
For 10 years, Tanya Kach, of McKeesport, Pa., was held as a sex slave under her abductor’s complete control. Now, she’s come out to tell her amazing survival story.
In 1996, Kach was a 14-year-old girl carrying around grown-up problems. Her parents were splitting up. And, like most girls that age, adjusting to the teenage years was tough.
A child laborer carries a basket of fair-trade organic cotton in Burkina Fatso. Photo courtesy of Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Recent news that cotton used by Victoria’s Secret to sew women’s lingerie may have been harvested by slaves has sparked a broader debate about how deep companies should go into policing their supply chains. It’s also prompting discussion in Washington about strengthening slavery disclosure rules for businesses. The story below includes comments from Free the Slaves Director of Programs Karen Stauss, a key proponent of stronger disclosure requirements.
Child Labor for Victoria’s Secret Cotton Examined By U.S.
U.S. investigators are conducting a preliminary inquiry into forced child labor used in an organic and fair-trade cotton program that supplies the American lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret, a federal law enforcement official confirmed this week.
Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, Limited Brands (LTD) Inc., said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that it continues “to take this matter very seriously as we do not tolerate child labor.” Those practices were disclosed in a Dec. 15 Bloomberg News report about the program the company buys from in Burkina Faso. Fairtrade International, the Bonn-based organization that certified the cotton, said in a statement last week that it has“prioritised further training on child labour and child protection for its members” beginning in early 2012.
The U.K.’s International Slavery Museum recently released the Contemporary Slavery Teachers’ Resource, which will educate students in England and Wales about modern day slavery and how they may take informed action against it. It is hoped that this monumental educational material will be embraced and disseminated by teachers worldwide.
The International Slavery Museum opened on August 23, 2007, the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade. Located in Liverpool’s Albert Dock, just yards away from where 18th century slave trading ships once stood, the museum highlights the historic and contemporary significance of slavery in an international context.
“Our aim is to address ignorance and misunderstanding by looking at the deep and permanent impact of slavery and the slave trade on Africa, South America, the USA, the Caribbean and Western Europe. Thus we will increase our understanding of the world around us,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool.
Although officially abolished, slavery has not vanished; rather, it is rampant and affects 27 million people today. The new Teachers’ Resource will educate students aged 10 to 14 in England and Wales on contemporary slavery as part of their education in Citizenship, which informs students on social justice issues and emphasizes the importance of human rights and responsibilities.
This exciting resource includes key terms, descriptions of the various forms of slavery, case studies and testimonies, human rights legislation, worksheets, and a list of the world’s notable campaigns, among which is Free the Slaves. Free the Slaves has contributed photographs, slavery survivor transcripts, and other resources to the material.
If you or someone you know is interested in educating today’s youth on slavery, access the downloadable Teachers’ Resource here!
Slavery can be defeated within the next 25 years, if everyone is engaged and joins this collaborative effort for freedom.
All eyes will be on London for the 2012 Olympic games.
That’s why our UK sister organization, Anti-Slavery International, has started a new campaign to make sure that the games are slavery-free.
According to ASI, there are 5000 people trafficked into London or the UK at any given time—but the Olympics will make the situation even worse. Past experience in international sporting and other major events often indicates a risk of an increase in human trafficking in the host country up to and during the event.
ASI’s campaign, called Slavery-Free London, calls for government action to eliminate the risk of modern-day slavery in London and the UK, and to ensure that Olympic goods are not produced by slave labor.
Citing research that states that trafficking and forced labor are often found in temporary, low-paid, low-skilled labor, such as construction, cleaning, and the resturaunt trade, ASI says that a “mass influx of visitors could fuel a greater demand for cheap, temporary sectors vulnerable to slavery.”
Traffickers may also use the Olympics as a pretense to lure people into jobs that don’t really exist.
In addition, ASI says that forced labor in the production of Olympic merchandise has also been documented. In one factory that produced Olympic-branded stationary, children as young as 12 were being forced to work 15 hours a day.
What You Can Do
Sign Anti-Slavery International’s petition to demonstrate support for increased action to combat slavery.
Share the campaign video via facebook and twitter.
If you’re in business yourself, order a copy of Free the Slave’s guide to Becoming a Slavery-Free Business.
Help educate future generations of abolitionists by donating to the Freedom Education Project on IndieGoGo.
For more news about the new abolitionist movement, sign up for the FTS newsletter today!
